What is the fuel consumption of a Pratt & Whitney JT8D jet engine, in gallons per hour or pounds per hour? It’s the engine from the old Boeing 727′s and pre-1981 737′s, among others. The SAAB Gripen fighter used an engine derivative.

I was thinking about a small, supersonic airplane capable of flight with 2-4 passengers. Some newer fighters are capable of supercruise (non-afterburning superburning flight, to save fuel and extend range). They also have gun and bomb loads, redundant systems, radars, great visibility, carrier ops equipment, very high strength, extreme maneuverability, etc… Everything else these airplanes need to do adds weight, cost, and aerodynamic drag. Removing those requirements and concentrating on efficiently going fast sounds easy. I like the JT8D since it’s powerful enough to push airliners and would be the able to do this while only being a single engine airplane, yet has great parts availability and cheap initial cost. Dreaming up an airplane design is fun. (I know, I’m a dork! GRINS) I just need to know how much fuel they burn, in order to design around it. Knowing both the sea-level, max power takeoff thrust fuel consumption and high altitude (at least 40,000 feet) cruise thrust fuel consumption would help. Thanks!

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